[trackday_prep] White Gti Mini-restoration

[Rob Turbo 3]

Well, it's been almost a year since I bothered with this, it's just been sat on the drive, with the front end on axle stands, looking sorry for itself all this time. It's had a lot of attention from scrap men, I've nearly put it up for sale for pennies and nearly took it to weigh in a few times, but now, I have a new plan!!

 

I've decided it's going to get finished, stripped out, then it's getting the 2.0 8v turbo engine that I'm working on putting back together and it's going to be used as a 2nd car once it's done.

 

Progress reports should start soon, I'm going to order the front panel that it needs, pull the 1.6 engine out, drag the big ass compressor up and sandblast the engine bay in the rusty spots, repaint the bay and get cracking with the turbo engine in the meantime, possibly even have it on the road this year if I'm lucky and stick at it!!

 

All I need is a couple of sunny weekends to get the engine bay sorted.

[bensonmi 4 2 Cars]

thats the way!

[SurGie 54]

Some new photo's would be good.

 

The rear arch look's a bit skew wiff and not very circular.

 

Good work.

[welshpug 1,626]

The rear arch look's a bit skew wiff and not very circular.

 

that's a standard gti arch.

 

 

 

Get cracking Rob, can't have too many projects

[Rob Turbo 3]

Some new photo's would be good.

 

I'll get some photos once I start back at it, but there's nothing changed since the last photos, apart from it's the other way around on the drive and there's no front end on it.

 

I ordered a complete front panel from nicedeals.co.uk last night, got an email today saying they were out of stock and that they had refunded my payment, so after work today I called into speedo (local motorfactors) and ordered one from there, it will be in tomorrow morning, at a cost of £60, bit more expensive, but they can actually get it!!

 

I'm on the hunt for a roll cage, PM'd a couple of members about ones for sale, will see what comes of that, I will be fitting my cobra monaco's (that I'm currently sitting in, in my bedroom, they make ace xbox seats!!) and I'll be fitting some harnesses, so want a cage with harness bars, but I'll probably just go for an OMP cage and weld the extras in myself.

 

I'm getting excited about getting back into it, I'd lost interest in it completely, I don't know what brought it back!!

[Rob Turbo 3]

I picked this up today,

 

 

To repair this,

 

 

 

I've got a timing belt to change on a clio 172 tomorrow, so depending on how long that takes me I'll either be starting work on the 205 again tomorrow or sunday, weather permitting!

[Rob Turbo 3]

With it being cold and windy today I decided to do a bit of work inside the 205 today, I started where I left off a year ago removing the dash, I didn't get far before I lost interest last time, this time I got the bottom half of the dash off and got the heater matrix out, the new one should be with me some time next week, I'll probably go back out later and finish taking the dash out.

 

I've decided to flock the dash, I've ordered a kit from Frost after reading a bit about them and when that arrives I'll make a start on the smaller bits of dash before attacking the main part.

 

The old 1.6 engine is being donated to science! My girlfriend wants to rebuild it , I just hope she doesn't expect me to put it back in the 205 once she's done with it, I have much better plans for the engine bay!

 

The rest of the interior will be up for grabs, like the carpet, rear seats, bits of trim etc. I'm keeping one of the front seats to replace the bucket seat I use in my room, but both front seats are passenger seats, so there will still be one passenger seat to get rid of. All the interior bits will be free to collector or going in the skip.

 

I'm not sure what to do about door cards, I don't think I'll be keeping standard ones in, I'll either go for carbon fibre or aluminium sheet I think. The sunroof will also be going and being replaced with an aluminium panel.

 

I'm going to need a pair of 1.9 hubs and driveshafts so I can get some decent brakes on, I'm thinking about using the brembos that I bought for the 306, but they might be overkill on such a light car! We'll see when the time comes!

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

Front panel looks nice, my track car was like that but worse! If you can get your hands on a spot welder you can make a really neat and quick job of attaching the front panel, I have one you could borrow if you come and fetch it, or you might find a hire shop near you that you can get one from. I can't recommend one enough.

[willmounsey 1]

I just read your tread there mate and i know the headache of doing a rebuild

 

I started mine in 2007 with a white 89 1.6 but the more i took it apart the worse it got

 

In the end i bought another shell got it resprayed and forced myself to get on with it

 

Its a pain when you dont get the time to work on the car as sometimes you can be bothered specially when you've been working all week. I was the same (untill I got laid off ) and got very little done plus mine is 35 miles away at the brothers house which doesn't help.

 

Stick at it mate it will be worth while, as my instructor at college said to me there 3 phases of doing a rebuild,

 

1. the buzz of starting it

 

2. the ball ache of all the work

 

3. the joy of having it finished and being able to say 'I did that!'

[Rob Turbo 3]

Started pulling the front end apart today, got the drivers side wing off, ended up with a bit of a kink in it, would probably push out, but thats the least of my worries, after having a good look around the engine bay I think I'm going to scrap it, there's rust everywhere, the chassis legs are covered in rust, there's holes all over, there's rust on the roof along the top of the windscreen and every bolt I touch snaps!

 

So I'd have to budget for a respray as well, the whole car is looking rough after sitting for a year, it's going to cost too much for me to justify fixing it.

 

Gutted really, I was looking forward to being back behind the wheel of a gti!

[SurGie 54]

Oh what a shame, have you any pic's of it all ?

 

It carnt be that bad iv seen really bad examples brought back to life..

[Rob Turbo 3]

My phone memory is full so no pics just yet, I'll get some later.

 

Got the top half of the dash out and found more rust, holes at the bottom of the windscreen, I've got everything off that I want, apart from the engine and beam, just need to find somewhere to keep everything now, it's all just thrown in the back!

 

It's not that bad, could be fixed, but it's a lot of work, then the cost of a respray, I'll end up having a good few grand in it by the time it's done and I'm not going down that route again!

 

If anyone wants it they can come and take it away, or I could deliver if it's not too far.

[Rob Turbo 3]

Here's some photos of the teabag!

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBH I'm not convinced I'm going to get another one, good ones are getting expensive! The only reason I was going to finish this one was so I had a home for my turbo engine!

[Rob Turbo 3]

Aaaand I'm back on with it again

 

My dad has just talked me back into finishing it, I don't know if it's a good or bad thing having a dad like mine, if it wasn't for him I would have gotten rid of the 306 before it was finished as well! I don't have any patience once things start going wrong, as you have probably guessed!

 

So I need to get it rolling again so I can take it to the sandblaster/compressor, because it's too much work taking the compressor to the car, it's not exactly small!

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

The bit by the screen looks bad granted, but the rest is no show stopper TBH.

[willmounsey 1]

that's the spirit get stuck in mate it'll ll be worth while

[SurGie 54]

Too right, it does seem to have the worm rot in there. White cars always seem to be the worse

when it comes to rust, my xs was bad.

[willmounsey 1]

the white shell i've still got (looking very sorry for itself) outside the brothers was quite bad

 

few pics

 

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt267/w...G9102007006.jpg

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt267/w.../PICT0015-1.jpg

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt267/willmounsey/18.jpg

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt267/w...ey/Image008.jpg

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt267/w...ey/Image009.jpg

http://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt267/w...ey/Image010.jpg

 

there not the best pics (fecking camera on the phone) but it looks even worse in the flesh.

 

will have a go at trying to replace all that needs done once i have the other finished but need to improve the welding skills first tho

[Rob Turbo 3]

Got the inside front almost stripped now, all sound deadening removed from the bulkhead, which was soaked, found some more rust, just surface, in places on the bulkhead, and a big rusty split under the heater unit, at the top of the exhaust tunnel, all that's left to remove inside is the steering column, pedal box, and the wiring to the engine bay needs pulling through. The front seats and carpet are still in for now, as soon as they come out they will be going in the skip at work because I've already run out of space and I'm using the back of the 205 as a shed!

 

I've just cut the wires to the interior light and the door speakers, I'll pick the wires out of the loom later, I'll be pulling out all the wiring that's not needed, not entirely sure what I don't need yet, but won't be much coming out because it's staying on the road, or rather will be going on the road when it's done!

 

I've bought a gti6 head, to bolt onto my turbo bottom end when I get the rest of the bits needed, although I have the wrong pistons in my block, need flat ones really to clear the valves, but I might just look into machining the pistons that I have, I'll be going nowhere near the dish, just the lip around the edge, so think it will be possible to take the lip right down or completely off without weakening the piston, not sure yet though.

 

I'll be making a log mount manifold for the turbo, preferably from a gti6 manifold if I can find one cheap, and I'll need a different exhaust housing for my turbo off the 8v engine. For the inlet I'm not sure if I'm going to chop an s16 manifold about a bit (that I already have), add a plenum and a plate for a throttle body, or try fitting r1 throttle bodies somehow!

 

The engine is still in the planning stages, so could vary wildly by the time I even get the old 1.6 lump out!!

[Rob Turbo 3]

I picked a gti6 exhaust manifold up yeaterday and decided I'm not going to use the standard pipes on it, I'm going to chop the pipes off and just use the flange, I've ordered some 1.75" bends with 2.5mm wall, which should be thick enough to withstand turbo temps, I'm not going for a log mount anymore, I'm going to keep the runners seperate until the side of the head, then down into 1 pipe into the turbo, I'm not bothering with equal length runners, too much hastle! The manifold will stand me at less than £100 after buying all the pipe, the gti6 manifold to chop up, and a flange for the turbo, it's not going to be as fancy as a dp jobbie but will do the job well enough for me!

 

I've sourced all the engine bits I need, just need to decide what to do with the pistons,

 

1) Machine cutouts for the valves

2) Machine all the top of the piston to the depth of a valve cut out

3) Find someone to swap blocks with so I have flat pistons

 

Option 3 would probably be best, but also the hardest to do! So between 1 and 2 really, 2 being the easiest probably, but maybe not the best of ideas, it would lower the CR even more, which is 8.5:1 standard I think.

 

My flocking kit from Frost came today, had a quick go of it on the screw cover that goes above the coin tray, doesn't look too bad, just waiting for the glue to dry so I can give it a brush off to see the final result, once it's been brushed off I'll get a photo for all to see (if it's any good )

[Rob Turbo 3]

Here's a couple of photos of my flocking attempts, the first bit I did is a bit patchy, like lines, I think the glue must have been too thin from brushing it about, so I tried again, this time I did the clock surround, which is loads better, although the photo isn't great.

 

 

 

The next bit on the list is the ash tray I think, then the switch panel (with the fog light, heated screen and hazards in), then I'll do the vents, then once all the small bits are done, move to the next size up!

[Rob Turbo 3]

I flocked the ash tray today, the glue was a bit thin in places so isn't 100%, but that's why I'm doing smaller bits first, so I can become an expert by the time I get to the big bits

 

 

I also stripped most of what was left of the trim from inside, there's just the seats and carpet left now, but that's only because I don't have room in the 306 to take them to the skip! And there's bits of carpet still stuck to the sides of the boot, and some sound deadening on the back of the roof, while pulling bits off I think I found that one of the previous owners liked 6x9s in the doors!!

 

 

The hole goes too far up for me to get away with how I was planning the door card, I could still do it, but it would look crap, so either have to rethink the door cards or get another door, I think I'll go for the latter, there's a couple of dents from removing the door lock and the drivers door is rusty and had filler in it, so could really do with 2 doors!

[platty 1]

What an animal! It looks like he chewed hole out for the 6x9 with his teeth.

[Rob Turbo 3]

Removing the drivers door card revealed this,

 

 

With an arrow pointing to the hole where I presume a 6x9 used to live, well, thank you Stu, what a great job you've done at ruining a pair of doors, give yourself a pat on the back!! Seems odd to write that on the door though, he must have been so proud of his "handy work"

 

All the trim is out now, the 306 is full of bits to go in the skip again, I'll be going back down to work to get rid of it in a minute, just left with the passenger seat and a couple of odds and ends that I haven't sorted yet, the car is now full of clips, screws, bolts and random bits of car, I'm going to get a box to pile everything into and worry about where it is when I come to putting it back together!

 

There's a nice puddle in the foot wells, no doubt due to the ammount of holes I've found, but everything will be getting welded up soon enough. Now the interior is stripped I'm going to concentrate on getting the engine out and getting the bay cleaned up so I can see just how bad everything really is.

 

I'm expecting the remaining engine bits next week, but I'm not sure if I'm going to start building it up, it hasn't got a home yet!

[Rob Turbo 3]

Been busy today, got the engine out,

 

 

 

Got a better look at the chassis rails, the passenger side is worst, has gone rather thin in places and there's a couple of holes,

 

 

 

Then stripped everything out of the bay, apart from the subframe, for two reasons, the first is that's what the axle stands are on, second, at least one of the bolts holing it on has rounded off, I loosened all 3 on the passenger side, got to the front drivers side and it rounded off, I've tried bashing sockets onto it to no avail so gave up on the subframe without trying the other 2 bolts!

 

 

 

 

I also had a bit of trouble getting the battery tray out, the only bolt I could get out was the rear top one, the rear bottom one and front top one were just spinning the captive nut and the front bottom one rounded off, so I chopped the tray to bits with the grinder and chopped the heads off the bolts, then knocked the captive nuts into the chassis rail, so need a few of these,

 

 

I can't find a part number for them and the 309 doesn't have them, I don't know if it's an age thing, with the 309 being a couple of years younger than the 205.